Electronic device manufacturers strive to produce a rich interface for users. Conventional devices use visual and auditory cues to provide feedback to a user. In some interface devices, kinesthetic feedback (such as active and resistive force feedback) and/or tactile feedback (such as vibration, texture, and heat) is also provided to the user, more generally known collectively as “haptic feedback” or “haptic effects.” Haptic feedback can provide cues that enhance and simplify the user interface. Specifically, vibration effects, or vibrotactile haptic effects, may be useful in providing cues to users of electronic devices to alert the user to specific events, or provide realistic feedback to create greater sensory immersion within a simulated or virtual environment.
Haptic feedback has also been increasingly incorporated in portable electronic devices, referred to as “handheld devices” or “portable devices,” such as cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (“PDAs”), tablets, smartphones, and portable gaming devices. For example, some portable gaming applications are capable of vibrating in a manner similar to control devices (e.g., joysticks, etc.) used with larger-scale gaming systems that are configured to provide haptic feedback. Additionally, devices such as cellular telephones and smartphones are capable of providing various alerts to users by way of vibrations. For example, a cellular telephone can alert a user to an incoming telephone call by vibrating. Similarly, a smartphone can alert a user to a scheduled calendar item or provide a user with a reminder for a “to do” list item or calendar appointment.
Further, such devices can provide haptic feedback to complement audio and/or video effects that the devices can output to a user, to provide a more immersive experience. For example, if a user watches video that is output by a smartphone, or listens to music that is output by the smartphone, the smartphone can also output haptic feedback that complements the audio and/or video.